Rebuilding Us
by snow.white.ice
Summary: Berk is finally ready to begin a new era with a new Chief, except no one can find him. Astrid is determined to move forward despite Hiccup's absence, but she's not going to stop searching for him. Unfortunately, he's not ready to come back to Berk just yet. Characters include HTTYD2 and RTTE
1. Chapter 1

_**AN:**__ I had to completely recreate this story because the first time around the text got screwed up. Thank you to the readers who let me know!_

_Thanks for reading!_

Astrid had been flying for hours on Stormfly, narrowing her eyes to peer at the grassy tops

of every sea-stack that passed below them. Every time she flew over another vacant stack her heart sank and her shoulders tensed up. She thought she knew Hiccup well enough by now, well enough to find him when his thoughts started becoming jumbled up in his head, causing him to need an escape. It was possible that he didn't go east, maybe he changed his regular habit and went south instead. Astrid sighed deeply, hoping that expanding her chest with air would alleviate some of the burden in her shoulders. It didn't help much.

She landed on a random sea-stack and climbed down from Stormfly. "We lost him girl," she said quietly, petting the dragon with trembling hands. The sting in her nose was sharp, and her dry eyes that had been windswept during the flight began to moisten. "He left us." After the first sob came out of her, she gave in and let the rest follow. Stormfly gently nuzzled Astrid, it was all she could do.

"Anything?" Valka asked, greeting Astrid as the forlorn young woman landed on Berk. The puffy red face was answer enough, but Astrid shook her head _no_ to be clear. No, she had not found Hiccup and she had no clue where the Chief of Berk had run away to. Both women knew exactly what he had run away _from_. "It's alright," Valka kept up a smile and light expression as if her recently reunited son hadn't been missing. "I'm sure he just needs some time to take in all the changes." Astrid didn't say anything. She hugged the older woman before leading Stormfly to the stables for some food and a thorough brush down. The manual task would at least keep her occupied until it was an acceptable time to crawl into bed.

After what felt like forever, Astrid still laid in bed wide awake. Her mind was racing and in certain moments she thought she knew why Hiccup had flown away suddenly. Even when there were a hundred things happening around her, she liked to think she had some control over them. But obviously everything they went through with Drago and the Alpha proved that she was nothing more than a plaything in fate's hands. Every time that series of events crossed her mind, Astrid quickly thought of her parents and she said a silent prayer to Freya. They had stayed safe and survived the fight, most everyone on Berk did thanks to Hiccup and Toothless. She wished that she could tell him how amazing he was for stepping up as their Chief and saving their home. She wanted to tell him that the future was going to be filled with more dragon racing, and feasts, and raids to save dragons from hunters.

Finally fed up with her thoughts running in circles, she slid out of bed and stood at the small table by her window. She pulled out a clean sheet of parchment and began to write:

_Dear Hiccup,_

_I'm losing my touch. I tried, but couldn't find you this time. You've found better thinking spots, better hiding spots, I guess. I hope that you come home soon because we all miss you and Toothless._

_You must be thinking about your father. I'm so sorry for the hurt you may be feeling. The pain hit all of Berk once we put the Drago business behind us, but you never let it show. It's important to be a strong Chief, but Hiccup, you also need to let yourself grieve and celebrate and just feel. That will keep you strong and it will keep you sane. _

_I'm still very proud of you, I think I always will be. You have given us all hope that we will move forward together. Don't forget that when things feel overwhelming, babe, we are all going to move forward together. And, at the very least, you'll always have me. There'll always be an Astrid and Hiccup._

_Fly home safely,_

_Astrid_

She wiped away a few small tears before they could streak her face. She wondered if a terrible terror could deliver to a moving target, and decided to give it a chance. The letter would be useless left sitting on her table. She quickly sent it off.

"Guess you didn't find our new Chief," Tuffnut said with some seriousness as Astrid slid onto the bench near him and his sister. Fishlegs was reading with a bowl of porridge in front of him.

Astrid shook her head. "It doesn't matter, he's gonna come back soon." She had hardened herself against the worry and hurt his absence had left in her. "We have so much to do here. Lots of rebuilding and we need to strengthen Berk's perimeter." The twins looked at each other with a slight groan. They knew this version of Astrid. They one that channeled all of her emotions into hard manual labor and effort. And they were undoubtedly going to pay the price. "And don't even think about sneaking away," Astrid warned the twins, seeing them slowly standing from the corner of her eye. "You two are going to be essential." Their groan was deep and resounding, but Astrid didn't care, she would need them, theirs was one of the largest dragons on the island.

While Astrid was polishing off her potatoes and porridge, Valka took a seat next to her. "How are you?" the woman asked softly. There was no worry in Valka's tone, she was simply greeting the young warrior. They would be spending most of the day together, making plans and presenting their ideas to the Chief's Council, who will likely fight them on all their points. Maybe after three more drafts and unanimous approval they would share the new plans to all of Berk.

"Morning Valka," she returned. "I'm good. I'm ready." She was, because who else was going to do this work? Hiccup? Everyone would have liked to think so, but Astrid shoved those thoughts aside and walked out of the Great Hall with Valka.

"We'll need to focus on rebuilding first," Valka said and Astrid made a note. Rebuilding was Berk's forte, they knew how to be efficient, but they also decided a long time ago that craftsmanship and durability were unnecessary. The frequent dragon raids of their past did not leave time or energy for builders to etch stories into doors or ship hulls. Using seemingly unyielding wood was a waste of resources knowing that it could burn down within a fortnight.

"We should get Adis and Rannow to lead the team of builders. They'll be more inclined to take the time to include artistry into the build." Astrid could remember when she was young, Adis was the only person in the village carving wood into tiny dragons and birds and ships between Berk's expeditions to find the dragon nest. She and Rannow, who apprenticed under her, would be able to tell Berk's stories in wood and stone. "But I think the most important thing we need to figure out is security." Astrid looked around them. Some might see picturesque views or unparallel freedom to explore, but she simply saw holes that left her people exposed. "We need a strong perimeter guard and overhead sentries, and ballistae, and catapults, and.." Hiccup…

"You're right." Valka broke the silence, calling Astrid back. "And I don't think I would trust anyone more to protect Berk than you." Astrid's eyes grew wider and a hundred thoughts flooded through her mind. "You should lead our defense efforts, if you're willing." Her expression made Valka suddenly hesitant. It was fair, the older woman didn't know Astrid all that well, yet.

"Of course. Yes. I'd be honored to do it," Astrid gushed. It was an official assignment, a real position, a respected role in the village's system of interwoven governance. Valka as acting chief held uncontested authority to give Astrid this opportunity. The acting chief smiled and a gleam of pride lit up her eyes at Astrid's readiness for her role. She could see why her son was captivated by this striking young shieldmaiden.

The rest of Berk bustled along around the two women as they worked through lunch, sharing ideas and creating details. They finally called it a day when it became too dark to see their writing without a torch. "Dinner?" Valka said as she stretched out the stiffness in her legs.

Astrid was gathering the pile of parchment and organizing it by topic. She shook her head at the offer of food. "I'm gonna find Stormfly for a quick fly around." Just before Valka was out of earshot Astrid called back to her, "Could you save me a plate?" It had been a long day and she'd be craving some food once she landed, even if it was stone cold.

Fishlegs had already fed Stormfly, and Astrid made a mental note to pay him back the favor. She saddled her dragon and pulled on her furs to help beat the evening wind chill. She didn't steer Stormfly anywhere specific at first. They flapped around the island before heading over the sea stacks to the west. The cold stung Astrid's nose, but she didn't care. This was the only place she could breath deep and clearing breathes, washing out the tensions of her grounded day. It took real effort not to glance to her left where sensed an unsettling empty space. She wondered if Hiccup had gotten her letter, and that brief thought opened the gates for all her worries to rush in and make her head numb. "Alright girl," Astrid called over the rushing wind. "Let's practice some maneuvers." Flying faster and harder and turning the sharp corners was the only way to escape from the knot in her stomach and render Hiccup a lost thought in the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN:**__ Thanks to everyone who read this story and liked it enough to give it some love. Chapters will continue to alternate between Hiccup and Astrid's points of view. Lastly, fyi, this story is being cross-posted on AO3._

_Thanks for reading!_

The night had been chilly, but Hiccup stayed close to the curled up form of Toothless who blocked offshore winds swirling up the beach. Hiccup's eyes blinked in the pale light as it passed through small cracks between the layered leaves around him and his dragon. No sound besides lapping waves was reaching his ears, but he maintained caution while getting up. If the metal on his leg tapped against the stone ground, he could be in for a much rougher morning than he'd like. "Hey bud," he said softly, patting Toothless as the dragon quickly became alert. "You ready for some scouting?" He threw a few fish toward the dragon, "Eat up." He took dried cod and bread for himself before quieting to listen again for any movement.

Footprints from the group of lookouts were still dug into the sand on the beach. Hiccup didn't know how the dragon hunters had found out he was tailing them, but they must have thought he was on another part of the island. No one was on the beach this morning, and Hiccup finally gave Toothless the clear signal. They emerged from their small cave in the sea cliffs. It was hidden well behind thick vines covered in small foul smelling flowers.

In hindsight, Hiccup thought, he probably could have protected his flank better. Though experience would tell him that dragon hunters were never quiet enough to evade Toothless, but as wind rushed through the tree tops, the hunters took their opportunity for stealth. They had placed Toothless in a fireproof cage, and Hiccup was tied to a tree with chains and rope and they even thought to gag him, but Toothless blasted at them before they could stuff his mouth. "I'm sorry bud," Hiccup whispered, he knew Toothless could hear him, even over the din of yelling men and clashing metal as other trapped dragons vainly fought to escape. "Don't worry though, I'll think of a plan." Hiccup sighed, closing his eyes as his head hit back against the wood of the trunk. Toothless warbled and looked at him reproachfully. "I know, but we're here now, and…" Hiccup trailed off as his heart sank. A parade of caged dragons was being dragged away, likely to be loaded onto a boat for shipment. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. It was supposed to be a simple mission of releasing the dragons while they were still on the ship, but while strategizing behind piles of crates, Hiccup overheard the hunters' plan to rest at the Distribution Dock before sailing to auction. He needed to know where this dock was.

Well, he found it, but they ended up catching up with him, and now it was all for nothing. Why did he think he could do the work of three dragon riders? Why did he run into this blindly letting optimism lead the way? How come Stoick's voice didn't cut across his lapse of judgement to remind him that he needed a plan? Stoick the Vast always had good advice, being the Chief of Berk had made him wise, but being a Viking made him brazen and Hiccup couldn't even claim that right now. He was simply being stupid.

He tried to move his body against the tree trunk. The wood was rough, but Hiccup's riding leather protected his skin. His wrists felt sore and raw from the heavy metal manacles binding his hands useless. The same metal would have bound his feet, but the two in charge of restraining him didn't know how to clasp the cuff around Hiccup's metal leg, so they settled for rope. Rope also held Hiccup flush against the tree, but he continued moving, his torso went from side to side and his arms strained against the rope as much as his bound wrists would let him.

The sentries posted at Toothless' cage did not seem to notice or mind Hiccup's attempts to loosen the ropes. They knew he wasn't going to get out of them anytime soon. "Hey! Hey, do you guys have any food? Being a prisoner is pretty grueling work." His tone may have been light, but he wasn't lying. The pushing and straining had made him tired and sent the familiar rush of exhaustion through his limbs. The sentries looked at each other before one of them shouted at Hiccup to shut up. "So what? You're just gonna leave me tied to this tree forever? Starve me? How boring." It was obvious that Hiccup's fate was nowhere near up to these two doing their best to ignore him. He looked at Toothless, who also hadn't eaten all day. "Fine, obviously my hide isn't as valuable in the markets as a dragon's. Do you at least feed them?"

"Your loud mouth isn't gonna help you or your dragon, boy," Leftie, as Hiccup decided to name him, finally called. _Boy_. The insult made his blood boil and a scream wanted to gain momentum in his chest before making landfall on the ears of these two idiots who didn't give a damn. Hiccup looked away and closed his eyes. He might still look like a boy. He might even still sound like one sometimes, but no one on Berk could deny that he had transitioned to manhood under the most fitting circumstances. What did these two know? They didn't know him. Didn't know he was a chief, already.

The sun had disappeared at least an hour ago, and movement around the caged dragons continued. Torch bearers lit the well-worn path where cages continued to drag past. That last Nadder brought up the grand total to twelve. Fifteen Gronkles, three Monstrous Nightmares, and what Hiccup hoped was a sleeping Singetail. It hadn't woken when its cage rattled or when the hunters shouted orders. When the last cage passed by, and a dull quiet finally settled around Hiccup and Toothless. Leftie and Spittledick, he chewed copious amounts of Solblom and spit it everywhere, did a last check on the cage, and ropes and manacles before ending their watch. Hiccup waited for thirty minutes, an hour, a little longer, and no one came to take the night watch after them. "Ok bud," Hiccup woke Toothless from his light slumber. "How the Hel do I get out of here?" He got a low grumble in reply before Toothless laid his head back down.

No one knew he was here. No one was looking for him, coming for him, giving him a stealth advantage. "Hey bud, think you can blast gently enough to break the rope?" Toothless woke up again and without hesitation deep purple light built up in the back of his throat. "But, you can't break down the tree!" Hiccup quickly added. They'd never get off the island if this first escape attempt failed. These hunters couldn't be that dumb. Toothless looked slightly confused, but he shut his mouth, extinguishing the plasma blast. Nope, he couldn't adjust the level of destruction of a plasma blast. It either did the job or missed the target, but nothing in between. Hiccup chewed his bottom lip as he ran through scenarios all the while pulling his legs apart to try loosening the ropes there.

Being in deep thought was like wading through fog. The real world melted away and Hiccup was envisioning grand escapes, undoubtedly too busy to hear the light flapping of wings approaching. The Terrible Terror landed on a chunky branch above Hiccup, and only pulled his attention upwards when it sharply squawked. The recognition was immediate and Hiccup was so accustomed to the noise that he almost ignored it. He looked up. "Perfect."


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN:**__ Always happy to receive your thoughts, so leave a review if you feel inclined. Even a short one lets me know what's working and what needs work._

_Thanks for reading!_

"Maybe you should slow down there," Eret said reaching for the cup in Astrid's hand.

She looked at him with a flash of disgust. "It has been a Long. Day. Eret."

"Right, yeah. I was there. Whole time, we were sitting near each other. Remember?" But even so, he turned his tune and topped off both of their mead.

Astrid looked down slightly embarrassed. "Sorry."

Eret sighed before his brow furrowed with determination. "We should be celebrating!" His cup clacked against hers. "We did it!"

A small smile finally showed up on Astrid's face. "Well, really, you did it," she said with appreciation. "No one was shutting up long enough for me to explain my points until you started talking."

"You've got to give'em a future to look forward to, not a list of chores." He laughed. "But without you and Valka, Berk would have no map to follow." He raised his cup cheerily to a couple of Vikings passing their table before taking a drink. Astrid agreed. She was so focused on the tasks of rebuilding and rearmoring and restructuring their security, it didn't occur to her that the rest of Berk still had other jobs. Thankfully Eret keenly picked up on everyone's disgruntled mood and weaved together all the tasks on her list into a bright image of what was to come. Astrid had felt the miasma of displeasure lift off and replace the Great Hall with light bubbling chatter.

"I think I forgot myself that after all the building there's gonna be a normal life again." Astrid didn't know what was normal. First it had been dragon training and raids, then dragon training but with a different goal, and then protecting their dragons, what was next? She wanted normal to be the freedom she had on The Edge and Hiccup only a walk away and training because it was fun, not because they had enemies to battle.

Astrid was in the middle of a swig when Toulane the Terrible came to stand in front of her. His face was washed with red and his eyes were wide as he tapped his fingers against each other impatiently. "Ast- ah, General?" he began.

Astrid set down her mug immediately. Toulane was posted as a lookout on the east side of the island on one of the crags over Long Beach. "What is it?"

"We saw ships. The spy glass got us to count about forty, but in the darkness an' those chopping waters, it could very well be more."

"Not expecting traders were you?" Eret chimed in mockingly hopeful.

Astrid ignored him. "Send out three riders to gather intel. Make sure they're _not seen_," she stressed. Toulane nodded and ran off to alert the riders of their orders. Astrid turned to Eret who was gulping down the rest of his mead. "This could be real trouble. Maybe more people who think like Drago? Maybe dragon hunters. Will you help me with preparations?" She held out her hand. Eret smiled darkly and gripped her arm, firmly giving his arm to his General.

Walking down the path towards the dragon stables, Astrid in hindsight regretted not going out to survey the ships herself. Eret could have prepared the troops for battle, but then again, maybe they needed her to be their beacon right now. The village had not even begun repairs since the last blowout. As battle-worn as her people were, they were still human, and everyone felt frayed after losing a pillar of their community. And with no one to carry the burden now, she is all that was left. Valka was already saddling dragons in the stables. She gave Astrid a curt nod and gestured to a flight-ready Stormfly. "Gobber is firing up the forge and readying more weapons," she called after Astrid who ran to her dragon and swung into the saddle.

"Thanks Valka!" Astrid was off, flying low over the village and calling out orders as she went. The flocks were to be shepherded into the mountains, all spare weapons were to be stockpiled at vantage points throughout the village. Her A-team needed to lead squads of novice and in-training riders in formation, all children needed to head towards the safehouse under Sven's grazing hill. Torches needed to be extinguished strategically.

Astrid's heart was pounding, and electricity ran through her legs. She patted Stormfly gently as anticipation built up in her clenched jaw. "Let's go girl." They flew high to get a full view of the bustling Berkians in her home island. For a second, she let her gaze settle on the horizon. It was impossible to distinguish where the ocean ended and the sky began, everything was inky black, punctured by twinkling stars. The moon was hiding behind clouds, but she saw the silver line it made around the thick masses. A longing in the pit of her stomach made her cringe, but she quickly huffed away the feeling. There was work to be done here, protecting her home. Hiccup's home?

"General." She heard the shout come from below. Toulane had returned and was ready with a report. Astrid flew down parallel to the rider and his own Nadder. "Twenty-two ships total. They have ballistas and cages on board. About 250 fighters, but it was not clear who was leading them. Several ships were leading the armada. We checked the rear and saw nothing indicating a captain's ship." Astrid nodded and thanked him before instructing him to bring all riders to the training arena.

Looking out at the ships crashing through the waves towards Berk, Astrid groaned with frustration. Would she ever get any peace? At the arena, she and Valka put together an airborne stealth attack. They needed to take out as many flanking ships as possible. Let them burn at sea, she thought as her voice echoed over the empty stone steps surrounding them.

"Gustav, remember, you'll need to be patient and burn from underneath. They're gonna be distracted from the aerial attacks, so you and all your Nightmares need to be efficient and quiet, and use good judgement." She was mostly saying all that for the rest of the Monstrous Nightmare riders. Gustav had done well in proving himself since leading the A-team. She forgot sometimes that he used to be shorter than her and snot-nosed. His tall and skinny outline was similar to Hiccup, but Gustav's growth spurt had him standing taller than even their chief. She would always remember the morning he was late and had rushed into a training session, looking disheveled and still rubbing sleep from his eyes. He hadn't expected her to burst into laughter at the sight of him. Gustav with stubbly whiskers on his face, it had seemed impossible to Astrid at one point, but there they were!

Astrid looked straight at him now. "I don't need to tell you that this is a one and done right?"

Gustav nodded with grave understanding. "C'mon Astrid," his deeper voice was low. "You know I can read your mind by now." The corner of her mouth had turned up briefly as she rolled her eyes. When did he become so familiar with her?

She looked around at the rest of the riders, eyes meeting each of theirs. "One and done," she ordered. Hiccup would not have liked it, even if he had begrudgingly agreed. She could imagine the hard somber expression he would have worn at the suggestion. But _he_ wasn't fucking here. Astrid didn't have time to tip toe around an enemy, not when they were on her shores with long range weapons aimed at their dragons.

Her gaze searched for the village's healer. "Gothi," she addressed. "You'll need to lead the healing station." The older woman nodded in agreement and the firelight illuminated her look of determination.

Astrid stood up straight and took a deep breath. "Go," she said to the lot. "Snot, the twins, Fish, and I will hold the shore. You all make sure we don't have too much work okay?" The riders gave her a nod before dispersing toward their respective dragons.

Back on Stormfly, Astrid flew towards the edge of the island, and on the way found Eret who had been wrangling the Berkians foot soldiers. "Come hold the shore with us," she called.

Even as her skin tingled with nerves, Astrid's breaths were rattling out with uncertainty. Her heart sank as she approached the water. She didn't want to keep doing this. She didn't want this heavy anvil on her lungs and shoulders. In that moment she wished more than anything that she was wherever Hiccup was. Soaring over open ocean and breathing easy through cool wind. Her hand went to Stormfly's head, stroking it with shaking hands. Seeing the trembling in her hand, Astrid scoffed loudly. She had a job to do, to protect her home, her people, their dragons. With a final rattling breath, she steeled her nerves and put on her mask.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Finally got back to writing this one. Sorry it's taken such a long time to get this chapter up. I'm actively working on finishing this one up though, so there'll be more to come.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

The Terrible Terror perched on the branch above hiccup had a leather canister strapped to its back. It was one of Berk's messenger Terrors, Hiccup could recognize his design for the letter transport contraption. He softly whistled to the dragon and beckoned it closer. A quick scan around them and he was sure they were alone in this part of the hunter's camp. "Hey little guy," Hiccup whispered up to the Terror who had descended two more branches, responding to Hiccup's calls. "I could use some help," he tilted his head to gesture at his rope-bound legs. The small dragon's fire probably wouldn't get through the chains on his wrists or those keeping him against the tree, but it had the ability to precisely hit the rope without blasting off his remaining good foot.

Toothless was watching intently at first, as his rider tried to talk the small dragon into helping him, but the Terror was not understanding his role in their escape. He kept nudging Hiccup's head with his, the tiny thorns digging into his scalp each time, to deliver the message he was carrying. With frustration Hiccup turned towards Toothless and huffed. "Okay, if you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to your alpha." He raised his brows at the green eyes of his well-camouflaged Night Fury. "Wanna get things moving here bud?" Immediately Toothless puffed his chest with some pride and warbled out a low growl. That got the Terrible Terror's attention. It removed the sharp horn from Hiccup's hair and scampered down the rider's body. The big yellow eyes seemed to observe Hiccup's tied feet from every angle before settling on a spot. It's back arched high as air filled its chest and then a quick bullet of flame erupted from its mouth.

Hiccup strained at the ropes again as fire steadily burned through the thick fibers. Once he shook off the ropes, his foot stomped out the remaining embers. "Thanks," he said affectionately to both dragons. The Terror had climbed up the trunk and began firing bullets at the chains circumventing the tree. "No use, little guy. It's dragon-proof. I –," but then he heard a sharp clank and felt the metal holding him sag. Speechless, Hiccup's mouth hung open slightly even as he started wiggling fiercely to further loosen the chains. They fell onto the grass below, thudding louder against the surrounding thick roots. "Really that dumb I guess," he mumbled to himself, shaking his head. Then to the Terror, "I seriously owe you one." Holding out his wrists, he closed his eyes and tried not to get his hopes up that the hunters would clamp his hands with regular iron too, but hot air rushed past his hands and a sharp clink made his heart pound faster. He was going to get out of here.

Resisting the strong urge to jump and whoop, Hiccup rubbed at the raw skin on his wrists as he padded over to Toothless. The cage was definitely dragon-proof; he knew when it withstood several plasma blasts… but maybe they were less careful with the hardware. Hiccup inspected the hinges and locks on the cage. He pointed at the metal, "Can you shoot at this right here?" he asked the Terrible Terror sitting on his shoulder. The dragon sucked in air and let loose a small bullet. Nothing. Another bullet. Nothing. The tiny dragon continued firing, but Hiccup turned on his heel agitated, roughly drawing tense fingers through his hair. "Dammit!"

Toothless looked at him and let out a short bark. When Hiccup didn't turn around to look back at the dragon, Toothless let out another more urgent bark. "It's not working," Hiccup growled in response, but again the dragon barked, this time followed by his own frustrated growl. Hiccup swiftly turned and pointed at the metal. "Look!"

Toothless nodded his head and bounded around his cage. "Wha…?" Confused, Hiccup finally looked again himself and blinked a few times. The hinge was melting. This time Hiccup did jump around and pump his arms into the air at the victory.

Toothless was stretching luxuriously in the lush tall grass beside Hiccup. They had quickly flown off the hunters' island and made an inconspicuous camp on a nearby atoll. Dense vegetation made up the perimeter and Hiccup found a small, hidden meadow to settle in before finally unfurling the letter carried by the Terrible Terror. He held the parchment near the small fire Toothless helped him light earlier.

_Hiccup,_

_I've been posted on the perimeter of this distribution location for a week for reconnaissance. I intercepted this Terror to learn more about the hunters' plans, but it was addressed to you. If you're nearby, I could really use your help with this – like old times?_

_Whether you can help or not, I have your letter, so stop by. I'm on a small island ten minutes northwest of the distribution island. You'll recognize it when you see a burn scar in the forest that looks like a seashocker._

_Hope to see you're safe,_

_Heather_

As he read, excitement bubbled in his stomach making his legs restless. His eyes darted over the words again to commit Heather's directions to memory before he scrunched the letter into a ball and tossed it into the fire, sending embers rolling out towards the stone circle he had made.

"Are you ready for a short flight?" he looked at Toothless and began packing his few belongings, tethering them onto Toothless' saddle. "Let's go find Heather."

With a clear sky and well-lit moon, Hiccup would have been worried about being seen on any other dragon. Thankfully, his was built for stealth, especially in the dark. They zipped along quickly, navigating with the stars to head northwest as per Heather's instructions. Hiccup kept a close eye on the islands passing along below, and when they had been traveling for almost ten minutes, Toothless stopped flapping and slowed down, soaring easily as Hiccup looked for a seashocker silhouette in the moonlight.

"That one has to be it," he pointed to the left and they descended, approaching cautiously. The steady thin trail of smoke rising from the island made it clear that somebody was camped out there.

Not willing to make the same mistake as earlier, Hiccup landed Toothless some healthy meters away from the smoke signal. He stayed on his dragon who was much quieter walking through the forest than a metal-footed clumsy Viking would be.

They found a slight clearing, more like a short break in the trees, where a small fire was crackling and abandoned. "Ears up bud," Hiccup whispered, and on cue, Toothless turned his head up to the left and growled.

"You really wanted that letter huh?" A pair of boots perched on a branch disappeared and Heather swung down to land in front of Hiccup. She was smiling.

Hiccup let out a breath he had been holding and chuckled. His body began to relax. "I really wanted this to be you and not a trap," he confessed sheepishly but relieved.

They sat by the fire and Heather pulled a rolled-up letter out of her pack, holding it out for Hiccup. He had a shortlist of guesses of who had sent it. He opened it and read. Astrid, yep. It was short, but Hiccup could hear Astrid's soft voice speaking her words on the page and a coldness washed through his limbs, before slowly filling his chest.

"I'm gonna, uh…," he started, getting to his feet, eyes still glued to Astrid's graceful type. Heather watched him take a few steps away from the fire. There was no surprise or worry in her face.

"Go, I'll keep the dragons company," she reached her arms out to pat both Windshear and Toothless.

"Right," he was already walking into the trees. "I'm just gonna write a reply." Toothless let out a concerned warble, and ignoring Heather's soothing, followed his rider into the dark.

Hiccup's first overwhelming thought was how much he missed her. He couldn't think of anyone else he'd want to have by his side right now. Astrid was a talented strategist and would've helped him get this rescue done right the first time around. The yearning pulling at his heart began to throb deeper and Hiccup remembered there was someone he wanted by his side more. Tears began to cloud his vision and he kicked a tree trunk in his frustration.

Toothless whined softly, confused at his rider's burst of emotion. "It's not like I can just leave all these dragons and go back to Berk," Hiccup shook his head. He finally looked at Toothless. "How can I do both?" he asked rhetorically, yet hoping someone would answer anyway. "I belong out here," he continued, sweeping his arm out to gesture at the quiet trees. "How can I keep dragons safe from hunters? Crazy people like Drago?" Hiccup started pacing and Toothless settled on his haunches following his rider's movements with keen eyes. "Astrid knows, she gets it. She wants it too." Words from her letter ran through his head and suddenly his voice was thick. "My dad was good at running a village. He knew how to keep people safe. I… I don't, I couldn't…" Hiccup stopped pacing and his shoulders sagged as he whispered staring down at his hands, "I didn't even keep him safe." His body materialized into lead and the thick silence of the forest sat on him, heavy. "How am I supposed to go home without him?" He let his legs buckle under the weight and lowered his body to the cold vegetated ground. Hiccup sat cross-legged with his head in his hands for a moment before Toothless padded near and wrapped his body around his rider, offering what comfort he could.

Sobs were building in his chest and his head was throbbing with the effort to keep everything inside. Astrid had told him it was okay to just _feel_, but Hiccup couldn't breathe when he opened those gates. Minutes passed by, though Hiccup wished he had hours for this process of rebuilding his composure. But, there was no time to fall apart in the middle of the night with Heather waiting for him. He needed to figure out a plan for tomorrow.

Without any paper around, Hiccup resorted to writing a reply to Astrid, in the light of Toothless' plasma, on the back of her letter.

_Astrid, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm on a mission. Trying to shut down a large dragon trading operation. It's a day and half flight out from Berk. Near Yellow Lagoon and Codfin Island where I showed you those endless caverns. Remember? Check my maps. I could really use my general by my side on this one. _

_Toothless and I will be home as soon as we finish up here. Promise._

_Are you in?_

Hiccup

He brushed himself off and shook off everything that had hurdled at him from Astrid's letter before walking back to Heather's camp. The tiny Terrible Terror was curled up fireside, its back rising and falling gently with each crisp snore. Hiccup roused it with a pet down its back. "Sorry little guy, I need you to get this to Berk." After a long stretch and wide yawn, the small dragon stood alert, ready for the job. "Thanks. Get some rest when you get there," he whispered to the dragon as he secured his letter into the canister.

As the Terror flew away from them, Hiccup caught himself hoping that Astrid would fly out to them. He wanted to go into this with the old excitement and energy of past raids where the two of them practically were two parts of one, knowing the other's move beforehand and positioning themselves perfectly. He wanted to see her smirk after outsmarting a ship full of hunters, hear her laugh loud when they hit their target. He wanted…

"Hiccup?" Heather's voice was soft, "Are you ok?"

He turned and saw her staring at him with a guarded expression. Ready for an outburst. "Sorry, Heather." He took a seat where the Terror had been dozing. "I'm fine. Just got a little distracted."

Guard still up, Heather obviously didn't believe him, but she dropped the subject, deviating instead to their task at hand. "What've you learned about the distribution island?" She leaned in, listening intently as Hiccup told her what he knew.

They spent the night filling in each other's gap in knowledge until the entire operation was unveiled. It was the coldest part of the night when they finally decided to get some sleep. Come sunup they'd need all their wits to start planning their rescue for the next night. Hiccup curled up against Toothless who's tail wrapped around them both, keeping away some of the night's chill.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN**: I'm genuinely surprised at how quickly I wrote this chapter. Let's hope this muse keeps up.

Bright flashes of light set off against the black canvas of the horizon, and slowly those flashes caught wood. They gently crept up over the ocean waves, illuminating dark wooden beasts and scenes of chaos as shipmen scurried like rats in a flood. Soon, a series of splashes joined the cacophony of screams mingling with the deep rumbling roar of dragon fire. Astrid watched patiently, silently praising Gustav's hard-earned leadership culminating in the scene before her: five ships, burned down, and men left to the unbearable ocean cold.

"Most of those are going to make it to us," Eret said grimly, keeping Skullcrusher steady near her and Stormfly.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, but they'll be flanked by Gustav as they come to meet us."

A familiar feeling settled into her chest, interweaving with her breathing and traveling all the way to the tips of her toes. Her mind was focused on now, analyzing every detail of their fight, projecting the outcomes and how she could change minute movements to shift them in their favor. She was in her element, and as she looked around her at the dragons and their riders, all of whom waited for her command, all of whom would give their all for her, a heavy breath of pride surged through her. Defending Berk with the best was an honor. Her gaze lingered on Valka and a short vision of the woman asking her to be Berk's General filled her view. General Hofferson. She sat in the sound of it for a moment, General Hofferson.

"General, they've taken to the small boats." Eret pulled her back to the battle.

"Good," she called. "Fishlegs, get those boulders hot with Meatlug's molten lava." She watched the pair fly to the clifftops towering above their heads and waited for the glow of Meatlug's lava.

"Fire catapults!" she signaled to the launchers above. Snapping rope and creaking wood followed by a satisfying thud joined the soundscape. Astrid watched as glowing boulders whistling in the wind arched over their heads and landed in the water ahead. A few hit their targets. "Order them to keep firing until someone makes it to the shore," she instructed Fishlegs before joining everyone back on the frontline. Well, not _everyone_.

"Arrgh!" Astrid turned in time to see Tuffnut veer his body over Belch's neck. "They're launching dragonroot tipped arrows," he yelled pointing at the oncoming rain of projectiles.

"Take it away you two," Astrid called back, signaling them forward.

"With pleasure," they said in unison with wicked grins.

Gustav and his team were still burning down ships as the could from behind, but many of the hunters were gaining access to shallower waters despite the steady stream of boulders from behind her.

"Alright guys, let's keep them off the island," Astrid leaned over her dragon's neck and joined the scene. "Watch for boulders," she reminded the other riders as Stormfly closely avoided one. It landed in the water and spray reached Astrid's legs with a chilling bite. She maneuvered through the maze of flying weapons, careful to keep above the cloud of fire the twins were keeping lit to incinerate any arrows shot by the hunters. It also helped her see the floating targets beneath. "Ok girl," she said, leaning close to Stormfly's head. "We're gonna blast those ships. Just a hole in the hull should do it."

As they came in low to attack, Astrid saw Valka boarding the dingys to pull hunters into the water. That woman was worthy of Stoick the Vast. All of her grace, agility and smarts were the perfect complement to their late Chief's contrasting traits. Often, Astrid wished that she could have seen Berk's late Chief and his Chieftess together, it must have been a beautiful dance.

Now, the dance was nonexistent, leaving an open floor where no one was coordinating the rest of the village for harsh storms or prosperous harvests. There was Valka, still easing into this new life, and Astrid, with her ideas, but everyone was scattered, trying to fulfill their part of this puzzle that was missing a critical piece.

Several smallboats began to take on water after Stormfly splintered their wood. As they rose back into the air, Astrid glanced at the scene, taking in every detail again. She had to. It was her job to keep focus on the whole picture so nothing could fall through the cracks. She used to be better at this, but lately, for the past year, distractions wormed their way into her head. Not today. Hiccup would not distract her while his chiefdom was in trouble. His Island.

It was her island too, of course, and ever since she saw men and women give their lives for Berk, she knew there was no other greater purpose. If Hiccup always picked his dragons, at least she would always pick Berk.

They were doing fine. Everyone was throwing all their firepower at the right targets. Hunters were flopping in the water, very few were left holding bows. Fire slowly engulfed sinking ships and Astrid only saw about ten left for Gustav and his team to finish off. Men began crawling onto shore. Some coughing up seawater, grateful to be out of the icy dark waves, others, holding onto their fighting spirit were met by Berk's riders.

"Astrid." Fishlegs flew up behind her, his expression was serious. "Scouts found another lot of ships heading for our southwestern shore." Meatlug shifted to dodge a flimsy arrow. "They must've broken off early and sailed down that way."

"Thanks Fishlegs," Astrid said frowning through a moment of thought. "How many ships did you say?"

"About twenty."

"Got it." She turned back to her battle and quickly made up her mind. "Go, begin preparing for long-range attack," she ordered. "Flaming catapults and ballistae. We'll keep all the archers here." She didn't wait for Fishlegs to confirm, she swiftly turned Stormfly back to the shore, her eyes scanning in the dark for a large bulky figure.

"Eret!" she called, coming in fast and circling above where he was clashing weapons on the sand alongside other Berkians.

"Aye General," he gave a quick salute and smile between blows.

"We've got more coming in from southwest. I'm heading over there with Snot and the twins." She saw a brief nod from him. "You're in charge here. Ship all the hunters left alive on a burning vessel, then start patrolling for follow up attacks. No loose ends."

Eret's opponent was on the ground, unconscious. "As you like. Consider it done," he promised before picking up his sword again.

Hunters had gained access to the land by the time Astrid had made it to the second battle. She wasn't surprised, jumping off Stormfly's back and meeting an oncoming sword with her axe. She had to wrangle most of the ground troops, but by the time they reached the southwest coast, the determined faces of Vikings and ferocious smiling dragons in this rag-tag battalion must have been impressive.

"Keep catapults firing. Aim those ballistae at ship hulls! If you ride, go with your dragon to take out those ships!" It was the bread and butter of battle.

There had been an initial rush of excitement as her hoard of hooligans stormed the rocky beach. A spike in her adrenaline as metal and wood clanged and thumped against each other. The feeling lingered as Stromfly's blazing fire stopped the hunters in their tracks. It sputtered out when the first screams, familiar calls of pain and surprise, echoed across the mass of bodies. Astrid didn't have a chance to turn around and see who had been hurt. Hunters kept coming at her, strong-willed and relentless with every blow. They hadn't been beaten down by Berk's effective early and long-range offensive. There had been no time.

"Argh!" she growled, fueling her swings with the building frustration. How did none of the scouts see these ships sooner? She should've sent them out. It was naive to think the attack was a single prong. She should have seen this coming. Where was her damn head?

"Fuck this!" she heard Snotlout somewhere behind her. Maybe ahead of her? He had mounted his dragon and flamed up the beast. Hookfang breathed fire across the tideline where more hunters were making their way to the shore.

"Fuck, of course!" Astrid exclaimed. She needed to keep these invaders off the land. Let them freeze to death in the sea. "Snotlout," she called for his attention. "Lay a thick layer of monstrous nightmare gel across the sand there." He didn't even blink twice, pulled out the jars he kept on Hookfang's saddle pack while the dragon kept up his fiery barrage. "Ruff, Tuff!" The twins didn't look at her and continued their assult, but their hands cupped their ears. They were listening. "After Snot lays out the gel, light it up. I want a wall of fire. No more hunters gain shore access. Understand?" Tuffnut gave her a thumbs up before sparking up some gas to destroy several smallboats.

It had worked. The flaming barricade kept hunters off the shore. Astrid let her ground troop finish off remaining invaders while everyone on dragon back took care of the hunter fleet. "We've rounded up all the ones in the water," Snotlout reported.

"And we got everyone off the island," Fishlegs added.

"Good. Sails up, and get them at least ten miles out before lighting up the undercarriage." Astrid watched her most trusted riders head off for the single remaining ship. Those still on the shore were taking stock of their losses and carting the injured to Gothi. Astrid flew back to the first beach where she had left Eret to defend the shore.

"General," Eret greeted with a nod. He was wearing a smug grin.

"Looks like you squared away everything out here."

"As promised. Got the last hunters on a final ship," he gestured out to the ocean.

"Thank you Eret," Astrid sighed. "I'll meet you back at the village center."

The village was met with warm bread and fresh yak butter as men and women trickled into the great hall. Some had gone straight home for a well-deserved nap. The sun would come up soon anyway, and Astrid couldn't sleep right now even if she tried. All around here people were cheering and regaling their moments of glory in the fight. Astrid could hear the exhaustion in some people's voices and it made her feel heavy.

"—And then obviously I took him down with a good old-fashioned left hook!" Snotlout demonstrated the motion and slopped mead onto the table.

"I'm gonna get some air," Astrid excused herself from the merriment, ignoring the eyes on her back. Rays of light were starting to rise out of the horizon. She had seen many sunrises on Berk, but this one felt especially mocking. The sun finally poking out its head after all the hard work was done, after all the stress and worry and energy was exhausted, it was coming out to save the day and lift people's mood like last night never happened. Despite her annoyance, Astrid watched it bring the day, sitting on the stone wall outside of the hall. Birds were starting their ruckus, dragon snores rumbled from everywhere.

Astrid heard footsteps behind her. "Ummm… why do you look so glum?" Snotlout's loud entrance pierced the morning. "Your memory must be fading. Let me remind you. We. Just. Won." He was moving around her trying to elicit a response, coming up on her left and right.

"I didn't forget Snotlout," Astrid grumbled. "I'm tired and your voice isn't helping."

Snotlout sneered. "Tired? I'm sure being chief'll do that to ya."

"I'm not the chief," she snapped.

"I didn't see anyone else leading us into battle."

It was glaringly true, but she didn't relent. "He'll come back."

"Forget about it Astrid," Snotlout crowed as he headed back to the hall. "Just come inside. Grab a drink."

Several drinks might have helped her to forget this, the one thing she didn't want to be reminded of after a rough night. As she left her perch to follow Snotlout, Valka exited the great pine doors. "You did a terrific job last night Astrid," the older woman congratulated her. "Are you heading in for some merriment?" Astrid invited her for one more mug of mead, but Valka declined. "I'm not as young as I like to think. It's been a tiring week."

"Yeah, being chief'll do that to ya," Astrid parroted with some chagrin.

Valka paused and turned to look at her, properly look her in the eyes. She must see the turmoil, the anger, especially the hurt. She gave Astrid's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't lose faith in him now. This is when he's going to need you the most." She didn't wait for a response, but left her there on the steps to add guilt to her bag of emotions.

A familiar squawk pulled her attention to the sky and she lifted her arm for the approaching Terrible Terror to land on. Her heart pounded as she pulled a letter out of the canister. "What?" it was the letter she had sent Hiccup. Did he never get it? The dragon couldn't deliver it? Panicking, she turned it over in case… "Oh gods," she breathed, relieved to see the unruly scrawl.

**AN**: This was fun to write, but battles are tiring to get through. Thankfully this one was over quick. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Aaand, the muse was offline for a while there… but with all this self-isolation, I've been able to finish this story, so chapters will go up every couple of days. Stay sane/safe out there, and remember to go outside because vitamin D and fresh air :)

Hiccup had been up and ready to start their planning, but thankfully Heather had some good sense and suggested they take a moment to have a proper breakfast. It was going to be a long day after all. Toothless was exuberant in his agreement and offered himself and his rider to take on the responsibility of fishing up some food in the cold dreary morning mist. "Thanks bud," Hiccup had groaned under his breath at his dragon. But after flying for a spell to give Toothless the chance to stretch his wings and Hiccup to reassess his priorities, his tone had done a one-eighty. "Thanks bud," he sighed loudly against the wind in his face.

Freedom felt like this. Air rushing into his face, drying his nose, making it hard to breath, but ahead of him was nothing but empty horizon and no sense of urgency. "How do you always know what I need, huh?" he asked as they climbed higher into the clouds before flipping over and free-falling towards the earth. Toothless just warbled with glee and allowed his sticky tongue to loll in the wind.

"Either you went for a joy ride or you're both really bad at fishing," Heather commented wryly when they finally returned. She began filleting the cod Toothless had dropped at her feet.

Hiccup laughed freely before pulling out a knife and picking up a cod. "Sometimes it's nice to forget everything and just fly." Heather hummed in agreement.

"The export dock is on the other side of the island, maybe to keep the work streamlined." Heather drew a ship in the dirt. "They post most guards there and here," she pointed out the only two ports. "But I also see a steady presence of them at this camp."

"Probably where they do business?" Hiccup offered.

"That's what I was thinking."

Hiccup stared for a moment at the lines. He could see the diagram become the island in his mind and tried to pinpoint where he had been kept prisoner. Had Heather ever flown over him while he was tied to that tree? He never entertained the idea of a friend being close by. "Heather." She looked up at him. "You knew you were going to stake out this island? But you were alone." He hesitated.

"Yeah..?"  
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Why didn't you ask me to come out and help? This is kind of a big operation to take down on your own." He didn't want to insult her by implying that she couldn't do this alone, but really, it would have been near impossible to take down the whole thing alone. All she had to do was send out a quick note.

Heather snorted. "Weren't you here trying to do the same exact thing?" she smirked.

Hiccup's eyes went big. "Ahh, right," he laughed, embarrassed.

She rolled her eyes and finished off the last of the cod. "Besides, I figured you'd be busy being chief."

That deflated him thoroughly and his shoulders slumped as guilt flushed through him. "Please, don't remind me," he muttered, pulling a knee to his chest.

As always, Heather, quick to read others and adept in getting a move on, changed the topic. "Doesn't matter. You're here now. And you're right, this job needs at least two people," she looked up at him and waited for his eyes to meet hers. "Well, two skilled riders at least." Then, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder added, "I'm glad you're here to help me."

All morning the two took turns dragging their stick through the dirt to draw out their plan, edit each other's ideas, and amend previously cemented steps. Hiccup let the plan fill every crevice of his mind, leaving no space at all for Astrid, for Berk, for anything that could further fuel the ball of guilt harbored in his gut. Yet, he could not fend off the small nagging word, _busy_. He was always busy with something. Drawing a blueprint, grooming Toothless, visiting ally islands, building more spare legs, he could go on. Of course, being chief would keep him just as busy, running around taking care of people's problems, but how the Hel could Heather disregard his willingness to help on a mission like this? She knows his heart. She knows his stubbornness and his commitment to the peace and safety of dragons. He would not be too busy for this, ever. Berk would survive a few days without their chief. Hel, he was going to have to survive the rest of his days without a chief. Too busy? It was ignorant of her.

Hiccup looked up at the sky. "Let's get that speed stinger venom while it's still morning." Toothless understood immediately and rushed to his rider's side, his entire body vibrating with restlessness. "Looks like this morning was not enough flying huh?" Hiccup laughed as he fixed the straps of their saddle.

Heather held out the wooden cask she make-shifted from peeled bark and scrap fabric. "These should be good enough for our purposes, but they're pretty flimsy." Hiccup nodded, understanding. "Don't trust it too much."

"Don't go selling yourself short." Hiccup flicked the wooden cask before packing it into a sack on the saddle.

"Ok, but I'll be the one laughing when you're stiff as a tree and surrounded by the suckers."

Hiccup had seen the twins tackle this task in the past, and yet he still underestimated the time it took to gather enough venom. Heather had a close call before Windshear intervened to scare off the disgruntled speed stinger, but all her attention had swerved to getting out of the speed stinger's attack range and some of her collected venom splashed through the cask, immobilizing the left half of her body. "All right, I believe you," Hiccup laughed when he saw her.

"Thanks friend," she deadpanned as best she could with only half her tongue and lips moving to create the words.

In the air, hovering above where speed stingers could not follow, Hiccup pulled out a ceramic water jug. "Let's transfer it. We don't want to come back here."

"Should we really be doing this up here?" Heather side-eyed him before pointedly scanning their view.  
"Right," he realized. If they spilt any it was better they didn't freeze up on dragonback. They landed back down on the island on a small beach where Hiccup poured the venom into a trustworthy container.

"Get down," Heather hissed, trying to dunk her metallic dragon's head closer to the sand. Hiccup turned to follow her eyeline, corking the jar, and saw a wooden ship crashing through the waves heading north.

"Fuck." He motioned to Toothless to crouch down and stay still. It was far out enough that they would look insignificant if no one was looking for a couple riders and dragons, but he could still see the insignia on their main sail. "Do you think they have a shipment for the distribution op?"

Heather looked frustrated. She nodded.

"It still has a few hours of sailing before it reaches port."

"Two of us should be enough," Heather agreed to his implied plan.

"Quick and dirty, but it's worth having less of them to hassle us tonight."

She shook her head watching the ship. "If a shipment is coming in, that means they've made room." She turned to her dragon, but there was anger in her eyes. "They have a ship leaving port for auction tonight." Windshear bent her long neck closer to her rider, sensing her tensing body. "We have to take out that departing ship once it's far enough away from the land."

Hiccup didn't even have to consider this change of plans. He knew she had been watching movement long enough to piece together a schedule. "Are any ships going to come in tomorrow?" They still needed to act fast while the venom was potent and a window for infiltration existed. "Everything we planned can still work out tomorrow night."

"Yeah," Heather began securing her armor. "I've never seen ships land two consecutive days. There's no reason that should change now."

Hiccup pulled on his helmet. "Alright then, let's get up there and improvise."

The vessel was one of the salvaged ships Heather had been seeing lately on her scouting trips. It was patched up where dragon fire blasted holes and tattered old sails were replaced with new ones, proudly sporting the deep red insignia that make them a clear target in these waters. In the bright light of day, Heather and Hiccup were spotted early and a barrage of arrows began flying towards them every which way they flew around the ship.

Between dodging poison tipped arrows, Hiccup was able to aim Toothless at the sails for a second long enough. The dragon's plasma blast ripped a hole through the thick fabric, slowing down the ship. "Perfect," Hiccup whispered to Toothless before taking them farther up above the deck to quickly map the layout. "Those two ballistae are ours bud," he patted the dragon's head and they immediately swooped back into the rain of arrows.

Heather maneuvered Windshear's tail and fire to create a small access path near the stern. They approached closer, quickly firing at archers, blasting on-deck supplies to rubble, and swatting away arrows until Windshear landed on the gunwale. A mixture of screams erupted as the dragon's weight tipped the ship. The hunters quickly got into formation, all of their weapons ready to attack or release at the pair. Before the first arrow could be released, a series of plasma blasts one after the other tore across their front line and left space for Heather to jump on deck and fight on foot. She kept a close eye on Windshear who never needed much direction in close combat anymore. It was just a habit now to turn her eyes towards her best friend every few motions.

Hiccup looped around the mast again, getting a quick summary of the damage. The ship was too damaged to move swiftly unless they pulled out oars. Hunters were pouring out from below deck, taking over positions from their fallen comrades. He saw Heather had her end of the ship carefully controlled, so he navigated Toothless towards port to follow her lead while keeping one eye on her movements. "We gotta get down to the dragons, bud." Toothless blasted their way closer to the deck. They were low enough for Hiccup to jump onto the ship and make a dent on foot, and he regretted leaving the self-flying tail on Berk. How was he supposed to have known to pack for a battle like this? If he always prepared like he was going to be fighting, Toothless would be weighed down for every flight and eventually refuse the extra packs. Maybe he should have known though, after the past few years, it wasn't like trouble was circumventing him. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he never liked to avoid oncoming trouble either. They were practically friends now.

A couple well aimed plasma blasts gave them a landing pad. Sure it was surrounded by axes and maces, but they needed to take what they could get. Hiccup immediately leaped onto the wooden deck, pulling out and igniting Inferno as he did. "I've got you back Toothless," he called over his shoulder. "Can you get us to the deck hatch?" He advanced on the hunters in front of him, taking advantage of their momentary paralysis. They must see hundreds of different dragons, but no one seems to keep their head when faced with a night fury.

They fought their way through the throng of hunters until, the loud sharp clanging sound of metal on metal told Hiccup that Heather was right behind him. Remaining stragglers were knocked out and Windshear kept watch on deck while the two riders scurried below to find the captured dragons. "Is this ever going to end?" Heather sighed heavily. She broke the lock on an iron door. "It's okay," she murmured, holding her palm out to the Nadder snapping from within the cage. "Let me just…" she got her hands on the sensitive spot under the dragon's jaw and it began to calm down. "No serious injury. Good girl," she cooed and stepped aside to let it walk out of the prison.

"I don't know how to stop it," Hiccup grunted, opening a couple doors and taking a quick injury assessment. "Come on guys, fly out of here. Go," he gestured them towards the ceiling and they didn't hesitate to trot away towards the sunbathed antechamber before taking off through the hatch. Hiccup looked at Heather calming a dramillion for a second before moving onto cages farther back near the stern. He knew this was unsustainable. It's a Terror and rat game, the upper hand was going to keep shifting between the dragons and the hunters. Between him and the hunters. What was his father able to do from his seat in Berk's great hall? He could make rules, he could send ships, but their laws only existed up to the low-tide line of their forsaken island, and he couldn't constantly be drafting the defense. _We've got to look out for our own._ But the moment Toothless came into his life, every dragon become one of his own. "Done on this end," he called after a young gronckle ran towards the hatch.

"Here too. Let's get those guys in here," she pounded one of the iron bars, reverberating a dull thump before the wood absorbed the sound. "Windshear can weld the doors shut and the whole ship can disappear." She went for the lit antechamber and Hiccup followed. He opened his mouth a couple times, about to start a sentence, yet each start felt wrong. But, so did this.

"Uhh, Heather?" he started cautiously. She looked up as she dragged unconscious hunters towards the opening in the deck. "I'm not going to sink this ship," he said the words quickly, hoping that would make it easier.

"Hiccup…" she frowned. Toothless used his head to roll a large hunter towards the hatch. _Thunk_. Hiccup winced.

"I'm not doing it Heather. We can keep it stranded. We can turn it off course. We'll burn the sails." He was about to grab a hunter's collar before he noticed his chest was still and he stepped carefully over him to find one still breathing. "I'm not drowning them."

He couldn't read Heather's face when she gave him a curt nod. It was still, a flat plane of nothing and unease filled Hiccup's throat. "Let's just get this done." She dragged more men towards the hole.

It was a quiet flight back to their outpost island. They had left the ship, sails shredded by Windshear's tail and rudder shattered with a quick few plasma blasts. The best it could do now was float along the northern archipelago current. Heather didn't look angry, but her resigned attitude was enough for Hiccup to give her a wide berth until they landed and he offered to cook up the rest of their morning's fish for an early dinner.

Soft pops from the cracking wood kept Hiccup's attention and his hands busied as he poked and turned the fish much more than necessary. Toothless had found a sun spot where the trees were spread out and he stretched out for a nap. Windshear was wrapped protectively around Heather, like she knew something was wrong with her rider, but she didn't know the words to console her, so a hug would have to suffice. Hiccup didn't have many words either, so he watched the fish intently.

"I'm not used to taking orders," Heather muttered. Her eyes focused on the axe head she was cleaning. "From Dagur, from anyone."

"I understand," Hiccup finally looked at her and found the same flat expression. He let out a deep breath and straightened his back, stretching tight back and shoulder muscles. "I – It was never meant to be an order," he said the last word with a slight quake. She slowly nodded. Her hand arced over the blade of her weapon, thumb flicking against the tapered edge checking for nicks.

It was a blessing in most situations that fish cooked so quickly, but in this quiet moment, Hiccup wished he had something else to keep his attention as he served them. He threw a couple cod to the Razorwhip hoping the less than ideal option would keep her satiated until Heather could take her out for a quick forage.

"Hiccup," Heather started after he sat down and began to chew his first bite, it was too dry. He looked up at her, trying out his own version of her blank face from earlier. Now her brow was furrowed, like she was thinking through ways to break the news that his cooking was not up to par. Though somehow, he was sure this was not about the fish. "You're chief now," she started, her eyes slowly traveling up to meet his gaze. "How can you afford to be lenient like this? Like, what if there is a war, or… You have to put victory over everything. For your people. For the dragons?"

Suddenly her attention on him was suffocating and Hiccup turned away. He wanted to get up and walk away, towards the cliffs, feel the sea spray and cutting wind. He didn't have a good answer for her. Nothing about chief meant answers, it was always decisions and worry.

After a couple minutes of silence, Heather decided that this was not the conversation that they needed before more ship raids and an entire operation upheaval. She sighed, "You don't – "

"I don't know," he cut her off, it came out sharper than he wanted.

"Ok."

He set down his half eaten plate and let himself slowly stand up. His fingers kept pushing his hair out of his eyes. "You know I never…" She was looking at him quietly, waiting for the logical reason, because there had to be one. She was right. If there was more fighting, if his people, his loved ones were at risk, he would be expected to hold firm and put victory first. He would want to, but… "My word, my actions, they shouldn't be the difference between life and death. For anyone." His body felt tense and it was taking a lot of mental energy not to allow himself to crumple. "I was never a killer. I mean, didn't that lead to all of this?" He looks at Windshear and gives her a small smile. "You know that. But," and he considered her point again. The responsibility thrust upon his shoulders. "I will do what I can to defend Toothless, the dragons, Berk."

He looked back at Heather. She was smiling and stroking Windshear's neck. "I hear you," she said softly.

The rest of the evening felt warmer as Hiccup and Heather created a loose plan for their second ship raid later that night, hoping that doing so would save them time for a quick inspection flight over the distribution island. They knew how they would approach the departed ship, and they clarified what to do once the dragons were released.

"It was all Nadders," Hiccup called to Heather as they flew away from the brilliant glow of burning sails.

"Yeah, must've been a special order or something," She scowled.

They flew over the departure port and saw a few ships, but no activity around them. The camps were buzzing with laughter and voices, constellations of cooking fires caught Hiccup's eye before he zoomed past them and tried to pinpoint the field he and Toothless had been kept. He could hear the snores of a few dragons, others were lashing out with frustration. Dipping in lower to look out for guards, Hiccup heard the soft crooning cries of young dragons. His head began to throb as anger bubbled behind his eyes. He pulled Toothless straight up towards the stars as he reminded himself that this was not the time to be rash.

He eventually followed Windshear's glinting body back to their outpost for what was left of the night. "It doesn't look like anyone was too concerned about the missing ship," Heather voiced from across the small fire. Hiccup was still thinking about the sad crooning.

"We'll go over the plan some more tomorrow. Good night." He waited for her to agree before rolling over to press his knees and forehead into Toothless' tail.

Toothless was holding onto the side of a ship in the man-made harbor where shipments of dragons would dock for itineration and cataloguing. There were a couple men posted on the dock, but they were distracted with a dice game. If Toothless was quiet enough, they would never know that anyone was sinking their ships. Heather had chosen the low tide so the ship wouldn't have much water to sink into. When the tide finally rose later that night, it would be too dark and no one would pay any attention that their ships were taking on water. Hiccup was in the water, knee deep. He pointed to the hull where Toothless should aim. The dragon dipped his head under the water and blasted a small hole into the wood. A slew of bubbles erupted at the surface, but sound was muffled by lapping water, and trapped dragon voices. The two of them repeated this, pausing between blasts to adjust their position and listen for hunter movement. With only four ships in the harbor, it didn't take long to hinder the ships' integrity.

Heather was on the opposite side of the island at the export harbor doing the same with Windshear. During their fly over yesterday, she had counted three ships in that far harbor. She was probably already making her way through the posted guards and headed towards the supply field guards. Hiccup and Toothless quietly pushed through the surf, staying below the docks until they reached the jagged wet rocks where Toothless helped Hiccup keep his balance as they kept their footfalls as quiet as possible.

There was no chance for Hiccup to make it farther inland without these guys being a nuisance later on. He didn't need any regret. Toothless acted as backup while they knocked out both guards. Hiccup nicked them with the speed stinger venom, and he surveyed the rest of the quiet harbor while tying off the last knots to keep them subdued. He knew by now that the field where he had been tied to that tree was abandoned for the evening as dinner and drink were being enjoyed near the main camp. Although it was worth being cautious, they couldn't have been let down easy after losing a night fury from their grasp.

There were only two hunters posted around the dragon cages when Hiccup flew low over the field, careful to scrunch small against Toothless' back and let the Night Fury's camouflage do all the work. "Oh Gods," he groaned quietly when he saw the hunters' faces. Leftie and Spittledick. "Let's get this over with bud," he patted the dragon to land in a nearby grove of trees.

They shouldn't make too big of a fuss. He would keep them distracted, and Toothless could come around from behind. So, Hiccup bet on the easy approach and simply walked out towards the men. "Miss me?" he waved around inferno. Two bright orbs appeared behind the men as Toothless positioned himself as backup.

"You?" Leftie growled and reached for his sword. He turned to Spittledick and shoved the man away. "Get the boys." The other man stumbled, turned to stare at Hiccup like he was stupid to return and ran towards the central camp.

"Yep, me." Hiccup tilted his head after Spittledick and silently Toothless was off for the hunt. "I didn't get to say goodbye, you know, before." He walked closer but Leftie held his ground. "It's been weighing on me." He mock-pouted trying to get a reaction out of the hunter, to gauge his focus.

"I bet it has," Leftie growled again. His feet finally began to shift and Hiccup followed to keep him to his left. His backhand blow always landed more heavily on target, and he wanted to keep the advantage.

"I'm surprised the big boss trusts you two out here alone anymore," Hiccup taunted with a dry laugh. "Must've been disappointing losing a night fury."

Hiccup found the nerve that made Leftie red in the face. "It won't happen again!" he bellowed and lunged forward, his swing coming down from near Hiccup's shoulder. He was short a couple inches giving Hiccup a second to twist away and use the momentum to strike from his left. Leftie blocked with an uppercut and as his sword pushed against inferno, inching it closer to Hiccup's face. Hiccup struggled against the larger man's weight pushing down on him, but he endured until he was arched back far enough to let the man push him into another twist out. Leftie's sword struck the ground hard. Hiccup quickly hit easy weak spots from behind before whacking him in the head with inferno's hilt.

Leftie groaned as he fell onto his knees. A few shots on exposed skin with the speed stinger venom had him falling over, paralyzed and not a problem anymore. Immediately Hiccup began opening dragon cages. He got through two locks when Toothless trotted out of the forest, Spittledick hanging unconscious from his mouth. "Nice job bud," he praised and waved the dragon to him. They locked the two men into a cage and worked diligently with ears perked up, freeing the trapped dragons.

After the last dragon, a grateful gronckle, flew away from the island, Hiccup got onto Toothless. "This had to have been less guys than Heather found," Hiccup told Toothless as they took off. "We'll just scope out the camp so she can finish up."

It was packed like they expected. Fires across the flattened meadow were surrounded by at least twelve men each. Shadows shifted near the back of the clearing as men carried torches around the tents. Counting in the dark while the subjects moved around wasn't easy, so Hiccup had to be happy with the rough sixty he was sure was close. Everyone was mainly eating and resting. Not many men were around the tents. Night crews were probably preparing for their shifts.

Hiccup settled on a high branch a quarter mile away while Toothless perched on the branch above him, his mouth barely open with a purple glow. They waited for thirty minutes, though it felt much longer as Hiccup watched the dark sky, before a glint, moonlight reflecting off something metallic, and a blue glow told him that Heather was ready.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN**: Initially, I began writing this fic as an outlet for a loss I experienced. By now it has been about nine months since that time, and having written the last two chapters last week, I had to channel my emotions from that time into Hiccup as best I could for this and the next chapter.

I'd like to have some perspective on how I did, so if you have a second, I'd appreciate feedback :)

Thanks for reading! Final chapter posting on Sunday.

The relief Astrid felt once she saw that Hiccup had answered her letter was quickly pushed aside. Her hands clenched the parchment and she could feel heat rising through her body. She reread the short reply over and over, but with each pass she stopped seeing the numbers as her mind played the hundreds of things she wanted to tell Hiccup. How could he be so selfish? Sure, sometimes he let whim guide him, but he's not a kid anymore. Astrid looked up at the sleepy village. She watched Sven pass along the path in front of the Great Hall shepherding his sheep back to their enclosed pasture.

Would Hiccup always put dragons first? Before his people? Does he forget that he's the damn chief when he's up there in the clouds?... How could he leave her? After all they had been through together, after everything she has done for him. The ungrateful little… No, he's not little. That's the point.

"Fucking Hiccup," she murmured wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. He could _use his general by his side_. "Are you sure?" she stood up and stuffed the parchment into her pocket, imagining the moment when she would find him. Maybe the flight would give her time to string together the right words that might get through to his head. Besides, he was stupid enough to try to pull this operation off on his own and she was done covering for him to the village and to herself.

A spike of excitement surged her forward to Hiccup's house, but she paused. Valka might be asleep. She didn't want to bother her with this after their long night. Cautiously opening the front door, Astrid peeked inside and didn't hear anything. The main room was cold and dark, Valka didn't even bother to build a fire. A sharp rustling sound came from above and Astrid stood her ground when suddenly Cloudjumper's face appeared at the top of the stairs. His head cocked to the right, staring at the intruder.

"It's ok, just me," Astrid whispered, stepping in casually like this was any other day. "I just need a map," she pointed to the wall opposite of her. Shelves that were once covered with shields and armor were now laden with scrolls and books. The large yellow eyes didn't disappear back up to rest. They watched Astrid the entire time she crossed the floor and pulled out a couple scrolls that she knew would have detailed archipelago maps.

Before stepping back into the cold, Astrid waved Cloudjumper goodbye hopefully nailing down the point that he could stop guarding his rider. She never knew how protective he was of Valka.

She whistled for Stormfly as her feet quickly padded through wet grass and dirt towards the stables. She kept telling herself that the surge of excitement in her chest was her exhausted body giving her an extra push, but she recognized it to be the same breathless feeling as when the pull of an adventure guided her through life on the Edge.

She surveyed the maps from Hiccup's house. The island he cited in his letter was a tiny unmarked blob on the parchment. It looked like the trip would take at least a whole day. Gentle flapping sounded above her before Stormfly landed by her side, squawking, curious why she had woken her up from a well-deserved nap.

"I'm sorry girl," her brow furrowed, she really meant it. They all had a long night and she felt bad asking this of her dragon, but she needed to get to Hiccup. "One more mission and you can have the week off, I promise." Stormfly shook out her head, as if brushing off Astrid's words.

It's not like she didn't understand the difficulty of losing a family member. Though if she was honest with herself, her loss didn't immediately follow with an entire village on her shoulders. But even if the entire village depended on him to lead, that didn't mean he had to bear the burden alone. Hiccup still didn't know how to ask for help. But, he was a smart man, he already knew how to win battles, negotiate, help people, and care for Berk. Nothing he could do would ruin the village. Hel, if he could disappear for days and the village survived surprise attacks, him being around could only do good for Berk.

Astrid's mind went in circles trying to pin down the message that would best reach over Hiccup's mental wall. When the wind whipping her face dried her eyes and made her more aware of how sleepy she really was, she allowed herself short bursts of sleep. One went a little long and Stormfly's squawk alerted her to the precarious position she'd slipped into while asleep. She talked out loud and tried to imagine what type of plan she'd need to help Hiccup with his mission. She munched on yak jerky and some stale bread after passing fish to Stormfly from her pack. The night settled in clear and cool with stars glinting wildly like they were trying to tell her something.

If Astrid's navigational prowess was worth anything, the island they were coming upon was the one Hiccup described. Points of lights along the coast alerted her of a harbor. Astrid stayed low on Stormfly while the dragon took them as low as she could without being seen. Squinting through the darkness, she saw ships sitting low in the rising tide. A glint on the pier caught her attention. A helmet, on a man, lying unconscious. "Probably the right place girl," she patted the dragon to climb back higher.

With a deep breath of chilling high-altitude air, Astrid released all the grogginess from her mind. She shifted, small movements to stretch her sore muscles. "Can you find him for me?" she asked her dragon. Stormfly's large nostrils snuffled, bringing in air before veering downwards towards the opposite end of the island. "Good girl."

They were gliding over dark indecipherable topography when a bobbing pin of light got Astrid to slow Stormfly. "Hold on girl." She traced the light's path, it was moving away from a low glow highlighting the tips of pine trees. "Messenger. C'mon girl." She aimed straight for the light, quietly coming up on the man before Stormfly landed on him with a gentle flap. He yelped, surprised, but his eyes widened when he saw the lengthy Nadder claws and began to scream. "Shhh," Astrid admonished yanking the torch from his hand and leaning it near his face. "What are you running from?" she whispered urgently. He frowned at her and spit in her direction. "Fine," she whacked his head with the lit torch. His helmet took the blow, but his face fell into the dirt, unconscious.

Astrid immediately climbed back onto Stormfly and took off. It had to be Hiccup. The hunter was probably about to alert others for back up. In seconds a clearing lit with standing torches came into view. Cages were clumped around the perimeter where trees began to encroach the meadow. Commotion and a large Razorwhip made her pause. Not Hiccup. Astrid peered around the different people on the ground, looking for the familiar lithe frame.

There weren't many hunters left standing, and Astrid waited for Heather and Windshear to take care of the rest. They had a rhythm, a plan, that Astrid didn't want to muddle. After a final blow with her double-headed axe, Heather immediately turned around and began opening dragon cages. The gleam of a helmed hunter shown from behind a dragon cage. Astrid watched for a couple seconds as the man quietly rounded around Heather's back. "Steady girl," she coaxed Stormfly to leave their perch and fly into the meadow. Her dragon's wings barely made a sound as she flapped down for a soft landing and Astrid slid off her back to stalk the hunter who had pulled out a long knife. He'd need to get closer to her, throwing such a long blade would only give him away and leave him without a weapon. What idiot went around without a backup?

Astrid carefully pulled her axe from her back and before the hunter could get any closer to Heather who was distracted by a fussing Monstrous Nightmare, Astrid quickly closed the distance and swung. Heather veered towards them, axe poised to strike.

"Oh, you can go back to what you were doing." Astrid grunted, pulling her own axe out of the hunter's back. "I'll cover you," she smiled confidently.

Heather beamed and turned back to the dragon. "What are you doing here?" she hissed giving her a tight hug before moving onto the next, a Rumblehorn.

"Honestly?" Astrid shrugged as a gronckle nuzzled her hip before flying away. "I'm here to knock some sense into Hiccup." She rolled her eyes and laughed lightly. Heather surprised her with a sympathetic look and sobered Astrid. The girl could read her too well. "But I'm also here to help. What do you need me to do?"

Soon, every cage stood empty, except one that held a couple unconscious hunters who Astrid had intercepted from attacking Windshear. Heather held her in a tight hug once more before running through the plan again.

"This was good timing then," Astrid climbed onto Stormfly. "The main camp is gonna be crawling with these guys," she gestured at a hunter face down in the grass. "A third rider can only help."

"Why didn't Hiccup tell me that you were coming?" Heather frowned, climbing onto her own dragon. "We could've integrated your positioning from the start of all this planning." Astrid stayed quiet, fists clenched on the handles of Stormfly's saddle. He didn't think she would come. How could he have such little faith in her. Why did he always think he was alone in everything? She'd proven herself to him many times over, and he still couldn't let himself be vulnerable to her support. She looked at Heather and blanked her expression. She simply shrugged her shoulders, not trusting her voice to stay steady. "Doesn't matter," Heather huffed quickly, turning her face to the sky. "We've fought side by side enough. I can read your every move." Windshear's silver wings caught moonlight, flashing bright onto Astrid's face. She nudged Stormfly up and followed.

They were perched on the top of a couple pines. Windshear held her mouth slightly agape to reveal a blue flame glowing in the darkness. They watched the tree line for Hiccup, both quiet while they waited for Toothless' purple glow in response. Astrid was having a hard time quieting her mind in this silence. Heather and Hiccup had planned all this out carefully. They must have been together for a few days scoping the area. She wouldn't let herself fall down the rabbit hole thinking that Hiccup had left Berk to meet up with her for this, trusting Heather more than he trusted his own girlfriend. His own self-proclaimed general.

"There it is," Heather whispered, pointing across an expanse of forest. It was dim, slightly drowned out by the glow of the camp a few hundred meters ahead of them, but unmistakably a purple point in the sky. Astrid's eyes narrowed on the point, but she felt relief flow through her. He was okay, finally, she could see that he was right in front of her, alive and okay. "Ready?" Heather held out her arm and Astrid bumped her own to it, leather straps barely making a sound against Heather's metal arm guard. They dived down, weaving through the trees and coming up on the main camp quietly. Both dismounted, it would be better odds if their dragons were extra soldiers rather than mounts. They were the distraction. Toothless came in from the opposite end of the clearing, stirring up the hunters' focus while Hiccup, on foot, snuck around the shouting and fire.

Heather whistled three short high-pitched bursts, signaling that she witnessed Hiccup exit the large circular hut-like structure at the camp's center. He had gotten all the ledgers and whatever else he might have deemed worthy of note during his rifling. Astrid called for Stormfly to follow her to the center hut. "Light it up girl," she shouted, pointing to the back wall made of pinewood. She didn't wait to watch, she continued to incapacitate the hunters around her. There were so many, it was starting to wear on her. Every time she took down the last of a swarm, and thought she'd catch her breath for three seconds, another came at her from behind or ran across her path towards Heather. The familiar whroosh of inferno lighting up somewhere behind her caught Astrid's attention. Hiccup was finally another soldier on the ground, and he had the other speed stinger venom. Maybe now they'd start seeing a dent in the onslaught of hunters.

By the time the last of the hunters were frozen, Astrid and Stormfly had a dozen cages filled with unconscious bodies. The entire camp was lying tattered and broken in charred heaps around the meadow. Heather was flying over the island, sweeping carefully for any straggling hunters.

Toothless landed softly on the trampled grass of the meadow where Astrid was clearing bodies. There was a soft thump and padded footsteps interspersed with a soft rhythmic clicking. He was right behind her, she could feel the ghost of his hand as he hesitated to touch her. She reminded herself to relax when he finally placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, trying to turn her around toward him. "I'm glad you came," he was earnest and for a second Astrid wished she wasn't so angry at him. She wanted to turn around and melt into his arms, giving her exhausted muscles a break, but then he leaned in to kiss her and she fell back into her body, arms and shoulders becoming ridged as she stepped out of his embrace.

"I've gotta get to these…" she turned around and continued hauling the body. She refrained from turning to glance at his expression.

He stood still for a moment before she heard a heavy sigh. "Right." His tone was flat, deflated, but he helped her lock away the rest of the bodies in silence.

When Heather finally returned to the meadow she found deep indents scattered around the grass. The dragon cages filled with hunters were gone, transported to a single ship in the southern harbor. Stormfly and Toothless flew them out one by one as their riders tip-toed around each other, avoiding eye contact and unnecessary words. "Ship's set to sail," Astrid nodded to Heather from the ground.

"Perfect," she smiled, landing next to a napping Stormfly. Heather was either ignorant or skillfully ignoring the pair's obvious distance as she listed off her sweep of the island. Astrid paid attention as best as she could. The sun was coming up and her body was weaning off the adrenaline from the last couple days. She allowed her shoulders to sag and stretched her neck muscles gently. That caught Hiccup's attention, but he didn't say anything, just stared for a few seconds before averting his eyes back toward Heather.

"Meet back at the ship of hunters," Hiccup reminded from atop Toothless before they shot off towards the south. They had agreed to split up and burn the rest of the hunters' resources: ships, structures, and trapping equipment. Astrid flew north with Stormfly, tasked to burn the harbor she'd seen when they first arrived. It was almost over, then she'd get to sleep, maybe even eat something hot.

"Thanks for being so strong girl," she patted Stormfly's armored head, grateful for her enduring loyalty. Her thoughts kept drifting to her bed at Berk and it was hard to bring them back to the present. She wondered how tired Hiccup and Heather were. Did they have to stay up planning this, scouting the targets, gathering that venom? Did Toothless have to force Hiccup to land and rest? She had so many questions for him, but she couldn't unleash them yet, not until all of this mission was behind them. Her mantras from the flight last night mingled with the questions making her slightly cross-eyed and a throbbing behind her eyes made her groan. She wasn't going to get any peaceful sleep until she stopped worrying about Hiccup. He couldn't know how much he affected her if he picked up and flew off so often. She continued to give him every morsel of her benefit of the doubt, she couldn't help it.

"You two fly on, I'll finish off this ship," Heather called from below them. "Astrid, you had a long flight, get some rest."

For a brief second Astrid thought to stay behind and help, but she quickly agreed. "Thanks." She turned to Hiccup, waiting for a cue. He nodded and she sighed with relief. "See you back there," she waved to Heather before following Hiccup to a nearby island. He landed quickly and walked towards Stormfly, starting up before her feet touched the earth.

"I know you're angry at me Astrid," his voice was steady, but his eyes gave him away. They were filled with the remorse that she was so used to and always gave in to. "But once I found that hunter island, how could I leave all those dragons behind?" A fall back line that Astrid didn't mind so much in the past. Now she wanted to tear her hair out hearing it.

"But you're always ok leaving Berk behind," her tone was cold, making the morning's chill cling harder. She didn't want to look at him so she busied herself unstrapping Stormfly's saddle. The one that he made for her two years ago.

"I'm not leaving Berk behind," he shook his head. "Berk is fine, but these dragons, who's gonna—"

"Berk is vulnerable," she snapped.

"What? Vulnerable like… What happened?" His brow furrowed and the corners of his lips dipped down as he assembled his serious and stoic chief demeanor.

Astrid turned on her heel, "We were ambushed by hunters a night ago. Ships coming in from the east and another fleet from southwest," she was using her general's voice, emotionless and clipped. "Everyone was fine when I left. Several people are in Gothi's care." She watched Hiccup's eyes. They were round now, incredulous. His jaw clenched and Astrid added in a low voice, "You should've been there." He blinked, and a deep frown settled in.

"It sounds like you all had it handled," he huffed. Astrid gaped at his words, her face grew warm as she tried to slow down her accelerating breathing. A slew of incoherent thoughts wanted to fly out of her mouth.

"You are the chief," she spit, clawing for a foothold on the damn wall Hiccup was quickly putting up. "I rely on you Hiccup. Berk relies on you." He looked at the ground, indignant. "I'm not supposed to be making decisions about the village. Your mom shouldn't have to take the entire weight of a village she's still integrating into because you're not there! Especially not while she's also grieving her husband."

"And it doesn't matter that I'm grieving my father?" Hiccup shouted. "Gods, Astrid. I wanted you here to help," he paced away from her, hands running through his hair.

Astrid absorbed his outburst, letting it calm her own voice. "Of course, Hiccup, grieve your dad. I mean we're all working out the loss, but don't run away from us, it doesn't help anyone if you keep running away."

"Stop that," Hiccup snapped, waving away her words. "I didn't run away. I went for a damn flight. It went long." His eyes were burning bright with conviction. "And for the record, my being out here helped all those dragons. They would've died."

"Then let us know," she was straining her words, hoping that reason would puncture his resolve. "Let us help you! You'd rather go into these fights with only Heather? What if I hadn't come out here?" Hiccup rolled his eyes and Astrid wanted to slap him for the sheer immaturity. "You have to be smarter than this. You have to!"

He scoffed, "Why have you taken it upon yourself to lecture me?" His hands fiddled with the edge of his flying helmet.

"Because," Astrid growled, "no one else is gonna tell you how stupid you can be, and no one else is going to be here for you like me." He didn't look up at her, there was no surprise on his face, he knew she was right. When he didn't move to reply, Astrid took advantage of his sheepish expression. "Look, Berk has to be your priority now, your first priority, always. You can't run, you can't disappear for days without notice. Ever." Her words were loud and she took a measured breath to bring down the volume. "Mostly, a chief must stay accountable to his people. Like Stoick always did." She saw his mask crumple and he shut his eyes tight creasing at the corners. She didn't bring up Stoick to upset him or make him hurt. She never wanted to hurt him, but she needed him to hear her. "You're not your father, Hiccup, but you learned all the best important lessons about being a good leader from him."

Hiccup shook his head. "He wasn't done teaching me," his voice cracked. "He just found my mom again." His tone knocked the breath out of Astrid, and she gingerly ventured closer, resting what she hoped was a comforting hand on his arm. "It was too fast."


	8. Chapter 8

The blue light in the darkness had disappeared suddenly and Hiccup climbed into the saddle. "This is it bud," he murmured while adjusting the small knife, jar of venom, inferno, and his helmet before urging Toothless to take off towards the glow ahead of them.

His head was tunneled towards the central hut where he was sure he'd find the hunters' records. When his eye caught the glittering blue scales of Stormfly his legs almost stopped. He slowed to give himself time and find Astrid's blonde hair in the firelight. Her soft grunts and exclamations as she fought down hunters reached his ears before his eyes landed on her frame in the distance. A warmth rushed through his chest and he felt relieved. She had made it, she had come to help. His legs began to pick up speed again and he wrenched his gaze back towards his goal. The perk of working alongside Astrid and Heather was undoubtedly clear, they could take care of themselves in the worst of times, and this was nothing close to their past skirmishes.

He fought past a couple guards at the large hut's entrance before stepping inside. A large table stood in the center, covered in an extensive map, several pages of notes strewn across it and off to the edges of the room several low-standing shelves were covered in leather-bound books. Hiccup rushed to the table and sifted through the loose leaf pages. Scribbles of dragon hunting grounds and auction details were the only pieces of information that Hiccup found while skimming across the neat handwriting. This wasn't too helpful, but he stuffed them in his pack anyway. He turned his attention towards the books. There were too many to go through, he needed to find the most current ones. Whatever business these hunters had in the last few months, even years, was enough of a starting point.

Ignoring the clashing sounds right outside the thin walls of the hut, Hiccup opened up several random books. Dates kept going farther into the past, so they must've been ordered left to right. He picked out a book on the top far right shelf and finally found some empty pages in the back. The latest entry was for yesterday's departing ship. Hiccup stuffed the book into his bag before grabbing a couple more for context, reference, and some history.

He left the hut full of excitement. This was working exactly as they hoped. Even better actually, now that Astrid was here. He let his heart fill with emotion now that he had the ledgers, the important task out of the way. She was incredible, her loyalty and unwavering support. He felt like the luckiest Viking in that moment and he allowed that feeling to propel him through the rest of their fight in that camp.

It turns out Astrid didn't come out here to help him, she was only here to yell at him for being a bad chief and letting Berk down. When he heard there was an attack on Berk, it stopped his breath until she gave more details. Everything was fine, she made sure that Berk was held, she kept it strong. He should have been there, but what was the point of having trusted advisors and his most trusted partner in battle looking after the village if he couldn't rely on them in his absence?

Bitterness swept through him. "Why have you taken it upon yourself to lecture me?" he scoffed, doing his best not to roll his eyes. She was already furious at him, he didn't need to make it any worse. But it would have been completely warranted. She didn't need to tell him any of this, about priorities, about how to be a damn chief. What did she know? Was she there late at night when his dad poured over maps and plans to find the dragon's nest? Did she overhear Stoick whispering urgently to Gobber and other village leaders about food shortages in the middle of winter? She didn't have to watch his dad come home over and over with slouched shoulders and deep lines of worry on his face. It was a tired that his dad only allowed on his face in the privacy of their home. It was a tired that Hiccup never understood as a young child, but he would try to cheer his dad up on those occasions. Most of the time it seemed to work. However, it became more difficult over the years as their communication deteriorated.

Astrid couldn't stop focusing on his failures long enough to reflect on their successful night. He used to count on her to be the firecracker after a mission, going over the details with him, on how they were incredible and how they could improve. She used to enjoy winning and gloating with that unique confident air about her. The guilt from earlier found its way back in his stomach and he sighed deeply.

"You're not your father, Hiccup, but you learned all the best important lessons about being a good leader from him."

His heart lurched and Hiccup had to swallow against the stone in his throat. Did he really? He felt like he barely learned the basics. There was so much more to discover and he never though he'd have to walk that journey without Stoick guiding him.

Hiccup shook his head. "He wasn't done teaching me," his voice cracked. There was so much Stoick had waiting for him, retirement, Hiccup's family, lazy flights with Skullcrusher, reviving his marriage… he wasn't done with anything. "He just found my mom again," he whispered, and Astrid ventured closer, resting a frozen hand on his arm. It was the first time she had touched him since she arrived and he tried to bask in it for a second, but there was no comfort there, only clammy skin. It finally unraveled his composure. "It was too fast," he finally wept, moving away from Astrid's touch to face her. It was stupid, but he never saw it coming. He never gave himself time to think about a world, his life, without his dad in it. "So many times, someone calls me chief and I don't turn around. It doesn't fit me Astrid."

"You'll get used to it," she tried to protest.

"No," he pressed his palms into his eyes, frustrated. She wasn't listening. "When I'm at the head of the fire pit and everyone's looking at me, I keep wanting to turn around and look for him. Like I can't believe they are looking to me for all their answers. And then I go home? It's so quiet and dusty and almost like the color was wiped away in there."

"…Hiccup," Astrid reached out her arm, but he coiled away not ready for how empty it would feel. She pulled back and held her arms to her chest. The muscles in her neck had stopped straining and she had let her shoulders slouch. Nothing about her was hard and fiery anymore. She seemed to have retreated from the fight, so Hiccup tested the waters.

"I miss him, so much," he finally dared to confide, looking at her with dull watery eyes. "I just want to forget, sometimes."

"Forgetting won't make you feel any better," Astrid insisted earnestly. Deep down he knew that he had allowed his anger to blow his thoughts out of proportion. She was here to help, like she always was, and he was being a prick, stubborn and immature. "Our lives are moving onward Hiccup, but we will always honor Stoick by remembering him, telling stories, and considering his wisdom." Hiccup felt more tears stream down his numb cheeks. "…I know I will," she added softly.

Tired muscles finally brought Hiccup to sit down on the damp grass. He brought his knees up to his chin and Toothless padded over to wrap around him. The warmth was immediately welcomed and he sighed, wiping away drying sticky streaks on his face. "It's hard," he admitted. Astrid sat in front of him, giving him an arm's distance of space. "I keep wanting things to shift back to normal, but how can I get there when what used to be normal was having my dad around." His fingers absently picked blades of grass in front of his foot. "Astrid, there was so much I wished I got to tell him. There was so much I hoped for him to see, like Berk growing and becoming a dragon utopia, people finally living peacefully with dragons. He was so excited about bringing you into our family… Now I just have to forget about that hope? It hurts and it's not easy."

The familiar beating of wings above caught both of their attention. Windshear was approaching them, but she stalled, hovering above their heads. "It's done you guys," Heather reported from Windshear's back. "I'm going to go to find Windshear some sea slugs and let her rest. Over in my camp," she emphasized, obviously wanting to give the two of them some space.

"Thanks Heather," Astrid replied with a grateful wave. "I'll come join you for a nap soon," she promised before turning back to Hiccup who hadn't looked away from the grass. "Hiccup," she tried after Heather had flown away. She ducked her head trying to get him to look at her. "I know it's not easy. It must be one of the hardest things you've ever done babe, but he would want you to find your place in the village as chief. He already trusted that you were ready for it. And you're—"

"It drives me crazy you know," he muttered. "The problem solving is one thing. I can be creative with those solutions, but the daily, monthly, annual up keep is tampering my soul. I have to care about chickens and feed, about irrigation and wood storage." He groans at his own words. "And I want to care," he exclaimed suddenly. "I want to honor my dad by doing the best job I can, but, every time I make a decision, I get a nagging feeling that my dad would've done it better." He thrusted his arms up, exasperated. "I haven't been able to get over that…that self-doubt," he shrugged, "He left his mark all over the village and I want to be a good enough replacement."

Astrid reached out her hand, waiting this time for him to do the same. Toothless perked his head up and warbled softly into Hiccup's shoulder. With a weary smile, Hiccup accepted her kindness and rested his hand in hers. "You're not a replacement Hiccup, you never were," she spoke frankly. "We know you're going to add your own Hiccup flair to being chief, and you have to believe me, everyone is behind you. We trust you and look to you for guidance because you've already proven yourself to be a good leader." Astrid scooted closer to him so that their knees were barely touching, as she tried to ignore how wet the seat of her leggings has become from the dewy grass. "You don't believe me?" she asked when Hiccup didn't make eye contact.

How did she have such immeasurable power over his own thoughts? She really was the only one on Berk with any sense, and he was going to need someone like her, no her, by his side if he was going to do a halfway decent job. He wondered what would've been different if his mom never left, and his dad had her council on decisions. It made him smile and his body surrendered to the exhaustion. "I believe you Astrid," he looked up as her, eyes beginning to brighten as he allowed her to talk him down, again. He couldn't keep putting her in this position. Lately she had become the one chasing him down to talk him into making good choices. She had more important things to do with her time. "I'm sorry, for everything," he squeezed her hand. "Thank you. Sometimes I don't know what I possibly did to deserve you in my life," he chuckled. Warm morning light hit his face and the night's chill began to melt.

"You're pretty amazing Hiccup. You don't always let yourself see it, but I've always seen it. And I'll always be here to help remind you. More so now," she perked up. "Valka promoted me to general, with an actual title." Hiccup beamed at her. He knew his mom was a smart woman. "And you know you don't have to stop rescuing dragons," she smiled. "But just don't go off unannounced?"

"You're right," he shrugged sheepishly. Balancing Berk's problems and the hunter problem was possible. He saw that more clearly now. It felt more black and white before, when he fell into the temptation of avoiding his chiefly responsibilities.

"And I'll come with you. We'll make sure Berk is taken care of and we can go anywhere dragons need us."

Hiccup looked up at her face. Her wide encouraging smile filled him with love, leaving no more room for his earlier guilt. "I love you so much," he sighed with relief, pulling her into a hug. He pulled away enough to face her. "Let's do it, you and me."

Astrid frowned, but her eyes were still full of mirth. "Didn't you hear anything I said?" she hit his shoulder and he feigned pain. "It's you, me, and everyone on Berk," she corrected.

"C'mere you," he leaned in, holding her chin gently as his lips touched hers. "So, about that nap? Were you serious or just trying to get rid of Heather earlier?" he joked.

"Let's go. I could sleep for three days," she stood and pulled him up beside her. Hiccup held her hand, warming her cold fingers, and led her to where Heather's camp was set up further west, through the woods.

AN: Thanks for reading this story in its entirety. It was fun to write, despite haunting me in my moments of procrastination.

Let me know what you thought of it, thanks!


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